


A Tale of Two Cities

by Macx



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Crossover, Ghosts, Paranormal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-15
Updated: 2011-07-15
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is happening to New York. And to Gotham City. Two places who don't exist in the same space-time-continuum. Until now. Whatever is causing this, it's paranormal and the Ghostbusters are on the job. As is Batman, who can't say he ever went up against ghost and time-space-ruptures before...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tale of Two Cities

**Author's Note:**

> originally written in the mid-nineties

Janine looked a the phone as if it was something obscene, something that disgusted her. And in a way it did. The wretched thing had been ringing constantly for the last few hours, leaving her no time to breathe. It seemed like there were ghosts all over New York. _Maybe it's a tourist group from the Netherworld_ , she thought sourly and picked up the receiver.

"Ghostbusters," she said, her voice radiating her tenseness. "......Yes ..... yes ..... calm down, Ma'am. We'll be over as fast as we can ....," she glanced at the over-tight schedule of her employers, "...... which will be somewhere around Christmas if you're lucky," she continued. "...... yes, I know it's urgent. It always is, but you're not the first and not the last customer today and we're working as fast as we can ....."

She removed the receiver from her ear as the female customer began a tirade that could be heard even a few feet away from the phone. Janine sighed. What was it anyway that so many ghosts had appeared lately?

The front doors opened and Ecto-1 rolled slowly inside. Four very tired looking Ghostbuster exited the car and walked over to their secretary. Janine gave the latest customer a short good-bye and hung up.

"You four look terrible," she greeted the men.

"Man, this job's gonna kill me," Winston muttered and slumped against the desk. "What's happening with this town?"

Egon rubbed his neck and then shoved his glasses up his nose. "That is something I've been trying to find out in the last few days, but since we're constantly called away on busts I had no chance to narrow down the possibilities."

Peter blinked a bit. "Could we postpone the long sentences and the complicated explanations until I've had my shower and something with caffeine in it?" he asked.

"Good idea," Winston agreed, looking at his dusty and smeared jumpsuit with disgust.

Both men made their way up to the third floor, while the other two remained. Janine looked at the traps Ray was carrying.

"Empty?" she asked, a bit surprised.

The occultist nodded. "That's the strangest thing about those ghosts. One minute they're here, the next they've disappeared." He smiled. "A real mystery."

 

 

Janine smiled back. She knew that Ray loved nothing more than mysteries, especially the  
spooky ones. But empty traps also meant no payment, since they hadn't actually busted any ghosts.

"When are our next appointments?" Egon asked.

Janine glanced at the schedule. "In one hour," she replied.

The blond man nodded briefly. "I'll be in my lab then," he announced and went up the stairs. Ray followed him.

Janine went back to work.

 

* * *

 

 **Multiple Ghost Sightings in the Theater District!**

 

The morning headline of the Gotham Times was as flashy as it was ridiculous. Normally, the Times was a more conservative paper, but today it seemed that it had picked up on the Ghost-mania that had struck Gotham City. Every news station and every paper had its pages or hours where people discussed the ghost sightings.

"Not again!" Dick wailed and shook his head, nevertheless reading over the large article. "This is crazy! Listen to this: 'Mr. Barry Lark reported the sighting of a ghostly apparition, looking just like any other man on the street, except that it passed through the passers-by on the sidewalk. Mr. Lark tried to touch the apparition, but his hands just passed through it. Seconds later the apparition was gone."

Bruce Wayne looked up from his paper, The Gotham Chronicle, and smiled. "You don't want to know what The Chronicle says about the sightings. Looks like we have a real Ghost-mania in Gotham, all right."

Dick snorted. "Those people just want to make money with it. I bet they get paid very well by the papers to spout such nonsense. Ghosts!"

He put down the paper and took his cup of coffee. It was eight in the morning and both Bruce and Dick had taken the leisure to sleep longer than normal on a week day. Dick had just lately returned from another semester at the Gotham State University and Bruce had canceled all meetings for this day. Last night had been exceptionally quite, with nothing much to do for Batman and Robin. It looked like all the crooks were taking time off, too. Bruce had reluctantly agreed that the coming weekend would be their vacation weekend, after Dick had prodded and poked the older man for days. They wanted to go rock climbing, something Dick was really looking forward to.

Suddenly something beeped. Bruce rose from his chair and Dick followed. The beeping was a signal from the Batcave's main computer that something it had been working on was ready. Since Bruce always had the computer working on something, this signal was not unexpected. Both men walked over to the large grandfather clock, the secret entrance to the Batcave. Bruce opened the entrance and they went down to the immense cave.

The computer was up and running and Bruce simply pushed one button. The large screen lit up and showed a list of names. Dick recognized it immediately. Batman always checked which criminals were released from prison or Arkham Asylum, just to be sure he was keeping an eye on them. Most of the names on the list were minor crooks, but there was also one well-known name.

"Temple Fugate," Bruce read, frowning. "He's been released on probation."

"Well, maybe he's going straight this time," Dick said and flopped down in the chair in front of the large screen.

"Maybe." Bruce rubbed his chin. "But maybe not."

"C'mon, give the man a break. If he's out on probation I think he deserves it."

The older man gave a humorless smile. "I don't trust probation, Dick."

Dick Grayson crossed his arms behind his head and studied the screen. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I ......"

Alarm klaxons sounded and red lights flashed. The computer screen flickered on and off and suddenly there was a hazy shadow crossing through the cave. Dick's eyes threatened to pop out of his head. The shadow cleared into the form of a human being, dressed in what looked like a rock-climber's outfit, a helmet on his head. The man, for it was a man, was followed by a woman, who was attached to him with a rope. They descended down what looked like a slope, then disappeared. The alarm died down, the lights returned to normal.

"What the ..... Bruce, what's going on here?" Dick stared at his friend.

"I don't know, Dick, but I intend to find out."

 

* * *

 

"We have a problem."

The announcement hung in the air and Peter Venkman sat back into the armchair with an audible sigh.

"I hate it when he says that," he muttered. "What is it, Egon?" he then asked. "The world's at an end again?"

Egon smiled tightly. "Something very close to it, but this time it is centered around New York."

Winston raised an eyebrow. "Uh-uh, sounds like we gonna have fun again."

"Okay, big guy, spill it. What's the latest catastrophe to come?" Peter asked.

"I went over the accumulated data from all our busts lately. You might remember that we rarely had a real bust then, because most of the ghosts had already disappeared when we arrived and the P.K. readings were below minimal, indicating that the apparition wasn't really a ghost. Since these peculiar apparitions did not stop after the first phone call, I safely assume that it wasn't a hoax."

"And," Ray put in, "these ghosts appear all over the city."

Egon nodded. "It would be very outstanding for a simple hoax. So Ray and I went to work on the data and tried to find a common basis or an explanation for the apparitions." Egon rubbed his chin. "What we found is the existence of a rupture."

"Rupture? Like a cross-rip?" Winston asked.

"No, not really. A cross-rip opens a gateway to another dimension, mostly to a Netherworld dimension. A rupture is an opening in the space-continuum." Egon looked at the others.

"Which means ...?" Peter prodded.

"The space continuum defines the place of an object in a certain space." Egon took a petri dish lying on the table. "This," he explained, "we assume is New York City as we know it."

"Lifelike model, wouldn't you say," Peter asked Winston and grinned.

Egon scowled a bit, but didn't say anything on that. He simply placed the petri dish on the table again. "The dish has a certain place on this table," he explained. "And nothing from our space can take its place without moving it. Now, there have been theories about dimensions, existing in the same time, but not in the same space. These dimensions are separated by a thin layer of non-space."

Winston blinked. "Whew, I understand only half of it. You wanna say that there's something else in New York's place?"

"In another continuum," Ray put in. "And it's normally separated from our space."

"But now there's a rupture," Peter concluded.

"Correct. Because of this rupture, whatever stands in New York's place in the other space, it's now moving toward this city. That is why we keep seeing ghostly apparitions. It's the other place slowly materializing here."

Peter's eyes widened a bit. "What?"

"Oh, man, we have a problem," Winston muttered.

"Yes, we have a problem, gentlemen. If this other place materializes here, New York City will be destroyed. The other place will simply crush it." Egon's blue eyes were serious.

"And with the arrival of the other place, the rupture opens even more," Ray continued, "and it will pull all the other space with it. Our world and the other one will merge."

There was a short silence, as all four men let the words sink in.

"So, what do we do?" Peter asked finally.

"We try to close the rupture."

"Oh, yeah, how dumb of me to ask such a stupid question," Peter grumbled. "How do you want to close a space rupture? Super glue?"

Egon smiled a bit. "In a way. But first we have to find out what caused the rupture in the first place. If we close the rupture and the cause for it can't be found, we might have to face such a thing again."

Peter scratched his chin. "You think it might be a demon breaking through? Or something like it?"

The physicist shrugged. "I don't know. Ray and I are working on a device to find the exact place of the rupture and determine what forces opened the protective layers. It must have been a very strong force to achieve such a rupture."

Ray jumped up. "We should get working on it again right away," he said and Egon nodded.

"I want you two to go out and take readings of all the places were these strange apparitions were sighted," the blond man then addressed the remaining two members of the team. "Relay the information to us every hour. This way we might tighten the area down to a few blocks."

Winston nodded, Peter simply groaned.

"What a day," he muttered, but followed the black Ghostbuster down the stairs to suit up and get ready to leave.

 

* * *

 

Batman sat in front of the computer and studied the multiple reports about ghost sightings in the last few days in Gotham City. Strange enough, all the apparitions seemed to look like normal people, doing normal things. No horrible faces, no fangs, teeth, growls, slime and other stuff you were told in the horror movies ghosts possessed.

"I went over all the files concerning holographic projection," Robin said and walked over to his partner. "If those apparitions are really simple projections, then someone built one hell of a projector. I checked every company manufacturing such projectors, but it's a negative concerning a theft or some blockbusting new invention."

"I don't think it's a projection, Robin," Batman said. "At least not from a holographic projector." He pointed at the screen, where a city map was displayed. A lot of red dots adorned the map, some cluttering in a specific area. "I gave the computer all the locations where apparitions were sighted, this is the result."

Robin scratched his chin. "Lots of appearances near the old harbor."

"And that's also where the apparitions appeared the most lifelike. The farther they are away from that point, the fainter the figures appear."

"So you think there's something there?"

Batman nodded. "Definitely. It's like a pattern."

"So we gonna check it out?" Robin asked eagerly. They hadn't had some real action since he had returned from the university and he had felt somehow bored throughout their last patrols.

Batman smiled. "Yes."

"All right!" Robin called enthusiastically. "I was already getting a little bit rusty."

The Dark Knight looked at the younger man in amusement and rose from his chair. "Let's go."

 

* * *

 

"This is bad, really bad," Ray muttered as he began to read once again over the accumulated data. They had just received another call from Winston, who had relayed their latest readings to the two more scientific minded Ghostbusters at Central.

Peter and Winston had been able to close down the radius of the more frequent and the strongest apparitions to the harbor area, but they didn't have a clue where exactly the rupture was. All they could do was to take readings.

"Following these readings, the rupture appeared a few days ago and has gradually grown larger. If it keeps on spilling energy like that we'll be in big trouble in about a week."

Egon nodded gravely. "Even sooner if we take into account that the other New York City is pushing into the rupture, following the pull from this dimension."

Ray frowned and gave the computer a few new variables to take into account. "Which gives us only two more days until everything goes critical."

"Correct."

Both scientist looked at each other, knowing what the implications were. "Should we inform the mayor?" Ray finally asked.

"We have to. This is a catastrophe of unimaginable size."

"Then we should let Peter deal with the mayor," the occultist put it. "He's best suited to give him the catastrophe news."

Spengler agreed. "When Winston calls the next time, tell him to come back home. We don't need any more data for now. We know where the rupture most likely is and the next step has to be planned very carefully. I want to go out into the harbor and take a closer look around with the Ecto-meter."

Ray nodded. The Ecto-meter would tell them where the energies which had opened the rupture were coming from.

"I'll go and prepare the meter to take it out," the auburn-haired man announced. "I'll fine-tune it  to the readings we already have. This might make it easier to find the source."

Egon nodded and went back to the computer. There was still a lot to do.

 

* * *

 

It was eerie, Robin decided, looking at the dark and calm waters of the ocean. The soft gurgling of the waves did nothing to take away the eeriness; it increased it. And then there was this giant ship, lying only a few feet away from the docking area. It was a freighter, Robin had noted minutes earlier. The thick ropes were fastened safely around the docking poles and a gangway lead up to the entry. Men were standing on the quay and a freight crane was loading cargo onto the ship. Everything would have been quite normal if it hadn't been for the fact that the harbor wasn't used for such freighters; it wasn't used at all anymore. This ship was an apparition; a very large and life-like one.

Batman and Robin had arrived ten minutes ago, and when they had driven down the quay they had only nearly evaded several workers -- who were only apparitions as well.

"This is crazy," Robin muttered as he watched a ghostly truck arrive and park near the freighter.

"Let's go," Batman decided and both crimefighters left the Batmobile standing in the shadows of an old warehouse.

"What now? How do you want to find the source of this?"

"The old-fashioned way: search." Batman smiled a bit. "And there's the fact that the apparitions become more lifelike the closer we come to the source."

"Which also means we might encounter one of the bad guys and think he's an apparition," Robin concluded.

"Possible. Be careful," the Dark Knight advised.

His younger partner nodded and then they separated to cover more ground.

 

* * *

 

The Ghostbusters had parked their car at the harbor administration building and had then continued on foot. Everyone was suited up, but only Ray and Egon held a modified P.K.E. meter. Egon also had a spare meter handy. The harbor manager had agreed to evacuate the immediate area, mainly because of the apparitions, which had appeared even more frequently than before. Wherever they looked, there were strange, hazy shapes, which were getting sharper and more life-like the more they closed in on what seemed the center of the disturbance.

"The rupture must be close by," Egon reported, looking at the read-outs of the P.K.E. meter.

Peter watched a pair of ghostly rats scurry over the cleaned quay. The building close by was new, but something else, something old and half demolished looking, was overlaying the building. It was eerie; as if having a vision into the future, a time  when the building would be old and abandoned.

"Man, this is crazy," Winston muttered and shook his head.

"You can say that again." Ray looked around. "This is even worse than we expected it to be. From the way the spaces are overlapping I'd say this is approaching critical fast."

"Uh, tell me more good new, Tex," Peter said sarcastically. "I told the mayor it's just a little glitch, remember?"

Egon gave him a stern look. "It wasn't a little glitch when you talked to the mayor and I told you so then. It's a rupture in space."

"Whatever it is, we have to close it," Winston put in.

"First we have to find out where the disruptive energy came from," Egon cautioned. "If it comes from our side it's relatively easy, because then we only have to close down the energy source and then the rupture. If it comes from the other side ..."

"Don't tell me we've to cross over!" Peter exclaimed and stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his friend.

"We might have to, Peter. If we don't destroy the energy source the rupture keeps on getting larger and larger until the other city crashes down on New York." Egon consulted his P.K.E. meter. "And if we don't find the rupture in the next few hours, we might have a lot of trouble at our hands."

Peter sighed. "Okay. Let's hope the energy source is on our side."

"We better split up here," Egon announced a few feet later. "That way we can triangulate the rupture's focus better."

Peter looked at Winston, who merely shrugged, and then the four men split up, Winston taking the third P.K.E. meter from Egon. Then all were on their way.

 

* * *

 

Robin crouched outside a grimy, partly broken window, overlooking the large warehouse hall below. There was so much dust and dirt up here that it was nearly impossible to stay clean. His gloves were already covered with dirt from the climb up to the window sill. The hall itself was devoid of human life, but lots of rats were scurrying around between the debris. Robin pushed open the window and carefully entered the warehouse. He had chosen this particular building above all others because it was starkly overlaid by another image, the image of a clean, well-kept storeroom. The image had been very strong and very real, but in the end it had been just another illusion.

Inside, the building didn't look so well-kept. In fact, it didn't show any apparitions or images from another dimension. Robin jumped down on the floor and scared a rat. It scurried away and left very real imprints in the dust. All the crates and debris was real as well, as the young crimefighter found out after a thorough search. No illusions, no apparitions. Very strange.

He was just about to call Batman to report on his findings when he heard voices; real voices. He ducked behind one of the many crates and listened.

"I told you it would come this way," a male voice said. "If this goes any further we have a catastrophe at our hands!"

The voice that answered was much calmer and more distinguished, and it was a voice Robin knew. "Everything is working perfectly, Aaron," Temple Fugate said.

"But it was never planned this way!" Aaron objected. "This was a time experiment, not space. We're moving Gotham, not the time around it!"

Fugate chuckled. "Even better."

"But," Aaron went on nevertheless, "Gotham will crash into the other city in less than 48 hours if we don't stop this madness! We will destroy millions of lives!"

Robin felt icily cold inside as he listened in to the conversation. He didn't really know what the two men were talking about, but everything that happened around here, combined with what Batman had told him, made him feel even more cold.

"Why are you worrying?" Fugate asked mildly. "We're in a safe environment here; a cocoon of non-space."

Now the two men walked into his line of sight and Robin held his breath, wishing them not to see him. Fugate was dressed immaculately in his black suit, the glasses with the clock painted on them on his nose. As always he held a walking stick shaped like the arm of a clock. At his side was a thin, blond man dressed in a lab coat. The blond appeared very nervous.

"But the consequences!" he protested.

"The consequences will be that the mayor finally sees that crossing Temple Fugate twice is not very healthy!" Fugate said forcefully. "We will continue!"

They rounded a crate and disappeared. Robin waited a few seconds and then followed. He walked around the crate Fugate and Aaron had just seconds before -- and found nothing but an empty place behind it. Frowning, he looked at the floor, which he thought would be covered with dust and that way might be an indicator where the two men had gone; but it wasn't. The floor was clean-swept. Finding no traces on the floor, Robin began a detailed search of the room. What he found was nothing; no doors, no panels, no nothing. Where had they gone? Maybe it was time to call in his partner.

Before he could reach for his small walkie-talkie he thought he saw a movement in the shadows. He turned to get a better look when suddenly something heavy crashed on his right shoulder. Pain exploded in his arm, then numbing every nerve there was. He went to his knees with a cry. Half dazed he tried to roll to his left and reach for some weapon, maybe even his grappling hook to escape, when someone grabbed him by the front of his costume and pulled him off the ground. Robin looked into the cold eyes of a square, scarred face. The man holding him had to be more than a head taller than him and he was built like a wardrobe.

"Well, well, well," he said with cold satisfaction, "I thought I had heard something. What are you doing here all alone, birdie?"

Robin struggled weakly. His right arm was useless and he wasn't sure whether he had the strength to take that guy out. But maybe he could get away.

"Or is your bat-friend around?" the man went on and lifted him a bit higher.

Robin choked and brought his left hand up, where he held a Batarang. He lashed out and hit the man on the chin with it. The man cried in annoyance and let go of him, just as Robin had planned. He fell to the floor and rolled away, coming unsteadily to his feet. Everything blurred a bit around him.

"You won't get away like this!" the man hissed and Robin saw him swing his baseball bat.

The young crimefighter doged the first blow, feeling even more dizzy, but wasn't fast enough to evade number two -- this time to his left temple. He fell to the ground like a dead weight, pain racing through his head, and then darkness collapsed over him.

 

* * *

 

"That's it."

"That's it?" Peter echoed and looked at the storehouse.

Ray nodded. "It's were the triangulation showed the focus point to be," he said. "The readings coming from inside are distorted by something, but they're the strongest we've received so far."

"So you wanna take a look inside," Winston concluded, already checking his thrower.

"Of course." Egon began to walk toward the building and Ray followed.

"Whoa, wait a sec, big guy!" Peter grabbed his older friend by one arm and stopped him. "You both want to get in there? No way."

"Peter ...."

"No, wait. Whatever is inside, you might need back-up. I know how you two science heads can get when you think something's 'fascinating'." The psychologist shook his head. "You need a watchdog then."

Egon smiled a bit. "And you've just appointed yourself as a such?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Any objections?"

"Nope," Winston answered. "Ray and I will keep an eye open out here and you two go inside and have a look around."

Peter gave Egon a challenging look, but the physicist didn't object, merely shrugged. "Let's go."

Peter took his thrower and followed his blond partner through the door into the warehouse. Inside, everything looked quiet. There were few crates stored here and most of the room was completely empty. And something else was here: nothing. No apparitions, no hazy shapes or shadows. This room looked like it was as far away from the center of the rupture as it could possibly be. Peter remarked on this to Egon, who nodded.

"Yes, I noticed it, too. And it is indeed very strange. The overlay effect of the spaces should be strongest here, which means we should see the place that is in the other space instead of this warehouse. But all we see is just our dimension."

"So?"

"This implies two things: first, we could theorize that inside a space rupture, the structural changes are non-existent. We could be in some kind of null space where the distortions don't affect the surrounding space. Or second, we are in an artificially created bubble which is crossing over from the other space."

"Huh?"

"Someone on the other side is responsible for the rupture," Egon explained, all the while keeping a close eye on the P.K.E. meter. "The readings in here are far too distorted for the energy source to be here. It has to be on the other side."

"Great!" Peter moaned.

"And," the physicist continued, ignoring him, "because of that, the null space bubble has to be penetrating from the other space."

"Okay, so what do we do now, superbrain?" Peter wanted to know, eyeing the storehouse nervously.

"We have to find a way to close down the energy source on the other side. It's the only way to stop the worst of all to happen: the destruction of New York."

Peter rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, okay, I see we can't get out of this, but how do you want to get into the other space -- of which we know nothing at all, mind you! -- and close that energy source?"

"Actually, we know a lot about the other city, Peter. We know it exists on the same spot as ours, we know that people live there, and we know where the entrance point to the other space is." Egon raised an eyebrow. "This other space is not the Netherworld; it's like a copy of ours, but with several differences nonetheless."

"I don't like it, Egon."

"Me neither. We have to talk to Ray and Winston first, then find a strategy on how to cross the protective non-space layers through the rupture, without getting us killed in the process."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Without getting us killed. I love it already!"

Egon smiled faintly and both men retreated outside, where they met with the other two Ghostbusters. Egon relayed the new information to Ray and Winston, and Ray's face grew thoughtful.

"It should be fairly safe to cross through the rupture," he said when Egon had ended.

"Fairly?" Peter echoed.

"Well, the other city is slowly crossing over to our space and there are no indications that this crossing is affecting the people in the city. It merely shows them as ghosts, that's all."

"I don't want to become a ghost when crossing," the psychologist muttered darkly. "I love my life."

"No, Peter, we won't appear as ghosts when we have crossed through the rupture," Ray objected. "We will be very real, very physical, over there."

"What happens when we have closed down the energy source?" Winston wanted to know. "Wouldn't we become stuck over there?"

Egon shook his head. "No. The rupture will close as slowly as it has opened, since the other city begins to pull back. It won't just pop back."

"Okay, so we can get there, alive, and return, equally alive, I hope." Peter looked around. "So when do we go?"

"The sooner, the better," was the answer. "We have about 36 hours left until this goes critical."

Peter straightened, inhaled deeply, then readied his thrower. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked cockily.

Egon raised an eyebrow, but had no comment. He merely turned to Ray and Winston. "We can't all go. I need someone to monitor the rupture and keep in contact with us." He held up the P.K.E. meter. "I'm fairly sure that the P.K.E. meters and the walkie-talkies can still be used as means of communications for both teams. Since we don't know whether the rupture keeps on opening with the same speed, someone has to remain here."

Ray nodded. "I understand." He sounded mightily subdued, but he also knew that he had just as an important task as the other two Ghostbusters, who would venture out to find an unknown energy source in an unknown space.

"You think we should inform the mayor?" Winston wanted to know.

Peter shook his head immediately. "No. Not such a good idea. Let's try and get this rounded up. If we fail, he will know soon enough."

"Well, you told him it was a little glitch," Winston reminded him with a smile. "But it isn't a glitch any longer. We need to tell him. New York has to be evacuated."

"Hey, I was only considerate concerning Lenny's blood pressure," Peter exclaimed.

"We don't have time to argue whether or not to inform the mayor or anyone else," Egon decided. "We need to fix this right now if we can."

"We'll inform the mayor," Winston said and exchanged a glance with Ray, who nodded. "Leave that to us. You two get going and close that rupture."

"Okay, that's settled then," Peter said and took one of the modified P.K.E. meters from Ray. "Let's get this show on the road." He gave Egon a smile and made an inviting gesture to the warehouse.

Egon surpressed a smile, noting the sudden fear and worry in his younger friend's green eyes, and turned to Ray.

"Keep us informed about the changes."

Ray nodded. "Sure. Take care, okay?"

"Don't worry. He's got me to come along, kid," Peter reassured the occultist cheerily.

Winston muttered something under his breath that sounded like, 'That's what I'm worried about', and clapped both men on the shoulders. "Watch yourselves, buddies."

Peter smiled tightly, then they walked back to where they had come from. As they went back inside the warehouse, Peter felt his stomach clench nervously. He didn't know what to expect and he didn't know what not to expect. He hated that.

"What do we do to cross wherever we want to go?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral and calm.

But Egon seemed to hear his fear and gave him a reassuring look. "I'll pinpoint the cross-point of the energies, then we just walk in there."

Peter sighed. Egon made it all sound so easy, as if they were about to make Sunday afternoon stroll through Central Park and not about to walk over into unknown space.

"Follow me," the physicist said, briefly consulting the P.K.E. meter.

Peter shrugged and did. They walked a few feet toward what looked like the shell of a large machine. Suddenly Peter felt uncomfortably itchy. His hair rose on his skin and he had the violent desire to sneeze.

"Egon ...." he began, but didn't get any further. There was a nauseating drop, then a brief cold wind, then nothing at all.

The first sensation that hit him was that of the cold, concrete floor he lay on. With a groan he shifted to one side, feeling his proton pack drag him even further sideways. His hands told him that the floor was as dirty as it was cold and his ears reported no sound but someone breathing regularly beside him.

"Egon?" Peter muttered groggily and blinked his eyes open. Around him, everything was dark, but not too dark to see anything.

Egon lay beside him, likewise on his stomach.

"Egon!"

"Yes?" was the blurred answer and Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly and crawled over to his friend.

Egon opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get Peter into focus. "Yes. You?"

"Oki-doki, fine." He smiled and helped the blond man to sit up.

"We made it," Egon stated and looked around.

"Yeah, but where are we?"

They climbed to their feet. They seemed to be in a warehouse, all right, but beside that, there was no indication where they were. Egon pulled out his P.K.E. meter and scanned the room.

"The same distortions," he reported after some seconds. "We are right below the rupture, apparently encased in the artificial bubble I theorized about earlier."

"Oh, goody. Anything about that energy source?"

"No, not yet."

Peter took out his walkie-talkie. "Ray? Winston? Can you read me?" He waited for several seconds, but all he heard was static. "Ray, Winston? Guys?"

There was a crackling sound through the static and Ray's voice cxould be heard, though very faintly. "Peter? Is that you?"

"Ray!" Peter exulted and gave Egon a triumphant grin. "I can hear you buddy!"

"How are you?" Ray asked. "Did you make it? How does it look?"

"Yeah, well, we made it, but for the looks of the place .... I'd rather be at home. It's cleaner there."

Another static crackle. "What about the rupture?"

Egon took the walkie-talkie. "Ray, this is Egon. We're working on finding the exact location of the energy source of the rupture but we're again in a neutral zone, so it will take some time. How is the situation over at your location?"

"Nothing has changed in the last half hour since you have entered the warehouse, Egon," Ray reported. "We informed the mayor and he wasn't happy."

"He never is," Peter muttered.

"We will now start our examination of this space's warehouse, Ray. Keep an eye on the rupture's energy readings," Egon said and then signed off after Ray had affirmed the last. The physicist turned to Peter. "We should split up and search. We keep in touch via the walkie talkies." Egon fiddled with the dials of his P.K.E. meter. "If you find the source, don't get to close to it. Just call."

Peter smiled wryly. "The same goes for you, buddy."

Egon nodded, though he was already deeply immersed in his readings. Peter shrugged and began to walk the opposite way Egon did.

The warehouse was much dirtier and much older than the one they had begun their journey in. It looked like it had been in this state of abandonment for several years now and the rats scurrying around on the floor did nothing to make Peter feel better.

"I'll bet there are 'roaches the size of rats in here, too," he muttered, scanning one very dark corner.

Suddenly he heard a noise. It sounded like a body hitting the floor. Peter moved quickly to where he had heard the noise from, keeping in the shadows of the multiple crates in this part if the storehouse. Stopping at one corner he peered around the crate and stiffened. A huge, strongly build man was standing over the motionless, apparently unconscious body of a dark-haired, young man, dressed in red and green. The large man was smiling, weighing what looked like a baseball bat in his hands.

"I think the boss will be interested in you," the man said and leaned the baseball bat against one of the crates.

Peter didn't know what was going on, but his instinct said that the guy lying on the floor was the one in lots of trouble and in need of help. Just what kind of help a single Ghostbuster could be against that mountain of a man, Peter didn't know. His eyes traveled upward and he discovered a whole bunch of nets hanging just above the man, which were fastened to a hook close to where Peter stood. A smile crossed the psychologist's features and he aimed his thrower at the rope holding the nets in position. A quick burst of ionized protons did the job of severing the rope and the nets dropped unceremoniously onto the large man. The man, who had looked up when he had heard the firing of the thrower, was buried under the heavy nets and didn't move.

The dark-haired Ghostbuster walked cautiously toward the man and prodded the motionless figure with one foot. When he didn't react, Peter stowed the thrower at the pack and turned to the likewise unconscious younger man. Only now that he was standing close to him did he see that the guy was still a kid; he couldn't be older than twenty. Part of his features were hidden by a black mask, the rest of his body stuck in a red-and-green costume. A black cape with a golden-yellow inside sprawled partly beside him.

"What's this?" Peter muttered. "A costume party?"

Kneeling down beside the costumed man, he searched for a pulse. He found it, strong and regular; he also found a spot of partly dried blood on the left temple. It looked painful and Peter guessed that the young man would at least have a slight concussion. He frowned, thinking hard about what to do now. This hadn't been in the plan. Of course, it had been possible that they would meet people over here, but this wasn't what Peter had imagined then. It looked like the kid had been whacked over the head and that the other man had wanted to take him somewhere for questioning. Why? Who was he? And why was he wearing this costume? Was it a uniform? If yes, why the mask? Questions and more questions which he didn't have the answer to.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Egon? It's Peter."

"I hear you," came the prompt reply.

"I've got a problem here, big guy."

"What problem?"

"You better come and see. Looks like we're not alone in and that the neighbors are quite unfriendly."

Egon affirmed that he would come right away and signed off. Minutes later, the blond physicist stood beside his colleague, looking at the unconscious young man, who hadn't moved an inch since Peter had found him. It worried the psychologist. The longer someone was unconscious, the worse the injuries might be.

"Who is it?"

Peter shrugged. "Beats me. I found him like that and this guy," he pointed at the still unconscious man under the bundle of nets, "was standing over him with a baseball bat. My bet is that he was whacked over the head while snooping around -- as we do."

Egon didn't say anything concerning the danger of what Peter had done, merely raised an eyebrow and Peter shrugged.

"What now?" the dark-haired Ghostbuster asked.

"I tried to pinpoint the energy source, but  it seems it is shielded," the physicist reported. "We can't find it with out equipment."

Peter sighed deeply. "Isn't that great?" he muttered. "Not only do we have an unconscious guy in a costume and someone else with a baseball bat, we also can't find what we came looking for. Any bright ideas how we proceed from here on?"

"We have to work step by step."

"Very scientific, very ingenious, very tiresome."

Egon grimaced. "It's the only way, Peter. But first we have to ....."

Before Egon could complete the sentence, Peter suddenly spun around, pointing his thrower at the shadows left of him. He had seen something move in there and he was paranoid enough to react to it. A small object shot out of the darkness and connected forcefully with the thrower, which was ripped out of the Ghostbuster's hands. Peter yelped in surprise.

Someone stepped out of the shadows and both Ghostbusters stared at the black figure in amazement. The man wore a cowl and a large, black cape, which flowed around his grey-costumed body. A yellow emblem was on his chest.

"What is this here?" Peter exclaimed. "A weirdo costume party where you scare away the guests?"

Though he had been a bit surprised at first, he no longer felt intimidated by the dark figure. Whoever that man was, he was no more than a guy in an impressive costume in Peter's eyes.

"Who are you?" the caped stranger asked, his voice deep and low.

"Someone who'll feel mightily pissed if you don't explain to him why you're throwing whatever it was at him!" Peter retorted, straightening.

Egon laid a hand on Peter's shoulder to stop him, though the psychologist wasn't easily stopped once he had begun.

"I am Batman," the dark figure said with his deep voice.

Venkman raised a mocking eyebrow. "Right." He gave Egon a glance that told the physicist what his colleague thought about the man in the costume. "Peter Venkman," he nevertheless introduced himself. "Ghostbuster."

Now Batman looked a bit confused. Apparently he wasn't familiar with the term 'Ghostbuster'.

"What did you do with my partner?" he asked.

"Nothing. He was already in that state when we arrived," Peter explained defensively, then pointed at the inane man under the nets. "If you want to blame someone, I think it's safe to point him out. He was the one with the baseball bat; I'm the one with the thrower."

"Peter," Egon cautioned him, squeezing his shoulder.

Batman's eyes narrowed on the unconscious man, then he looked back at the two Ghostbuster. Suddenly, voices could be heard and Batman stiffened, listening intently.

"He's here somewhere," one voice said quite clearly. "I heard him say that he thought he had seen something."

"Okay, let's check on him. I don't like it," the second voice said.

"Uh-oh," Peter muttered. "I think it's time to beat a hasty retreat."

Batman seemed to have the same idea because he scooped up the limp form of his younger partner and slung him over his shoulder.

"Follow me," he told the two Ghostbusters.

And they did.

 

* * *

 

In another space, but at the same time, two Ghostbusters stood or sat outside the warehouse in which Peter and Egon had vanished. Winston didn't like it that they had had to split up, but he had seen the logic behind it. If something unforeseen happened on either side, the other team had to act. That still didn't mean he had to like it. Ray, just as nervous and fidgety as he was, had started to play with the P.K.E. meter some time ago, taking readings or measuring something. Winston had gone back to Ecto once to get some equipment and call Janine that this would take some time. Janine, in turn, had reported that people were calling constantly now and that whole apartment buildings had started to merge with the other space.

"And the mayor called to tell me that he's started the evacuation procedure and that it better be a real catastrophe. Otherwise he'll sue us," Janine had said.

Winston had grimaced. "Tell him that we're hard at work here solving that problem and that two of us have already crossed into the other space to shut down whatever is causing it."

"Two .... Winston, who .....?"

Winston had sighed, knowing that Janine cared a lot for Egon and that telling her that he had crossed into another space wasn't exactly his most favorite of conversations. "Peter and Egon," he had said nevertheless.

Janine had been silent for a moment, then had offered to come out there and bring along something to eat. Winston had tried to decline, but he knew it had been in vain. Now he and Ray were waiting for their secretary, all the while keeping an eye on the meters and the rupture.

"Shouldn't we try to reach them?" Ray asked now.

Winston shook his head. "No. There's nothing to report from our side and if there were from theirs, they would have called."

"Maybe they can't call."

"Possible. But we shouldn't theorize about it. Let's just wait."

A pink colored VW Bug drove down the quay road and stopped close to them. Janine got out, a box in one hand.

"Hello, guys," she greeted them, looking a bit subdued. "You wouldn't believe how it looks out there." She pointed into the general direction of the city. "Everything is going crazy with those apparitions and the evacuation of the city. It's mayhem and chaos everywhere. When I entered the harbor area I didn't know what was real and what wasn't."

"Yeah, it's getting worse," Ray said. "This warehouse isn't even ours anymore."

Janine looked at the warehouse and noted that it looked old and abandoned, not like something that should be in the better parts of the New York harbor.

"I noticed that most of the warehouses look like that when I drove here. That's what's happening to the city? It's merging with some other city?"

"Well, not exactly," Ray explained. "You see, these are mere images of what will soon be here if the rupture isn't closed. The process isn't one of merging, the other city will just .... crash upon New York, erasing it."

Janine had paled throughout Ray's explanation. "But ... we'll all be killed!"

Ray nodded. "Yes. That's why Peter and Egon have crossed over to the other space to shut down whatever caused the rupture."

"What about the evacuation?" Janine asked levely.

Winston shook his head. "They won't make it. We don't have much time left. Evacuation procedures take a lot of time and it has already resulted in a city wide panic." His eyes held a sad expression. "I know it sounds gruesome, but either we get through this okay .... or we don't. We don't even know how far the arrival of the other city would spread. We don't know its size, its mass."

"If I had to make a rough estimation of what would happen if the other city arrived," Ray said, "then I have to say that the arrival alone would be accompanied by such a large earthquake that it might even hit Boston."

Janine sat down on an unturned crate, one the two men had used as a substitute chair. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Then all of this is ... for nothing?"

Both Ghostbusters nodded. There was a catastrophe only a few hours away and all they could do was wait. It wasn't much and it wasn't something either one preferred.

 

* * *

 

Robin came around to the sound of three voices talking. The sound was still blurred and his head was throbbing painfully. What had happened? And then his mind supplied him with what had happened just before he had blacked out. The man with the baseball bat ..... With the memory the pain intensified and he moaned slightly.

"Robin?"

That was Batman's voice and from the tone of it he was awfully worried. He opened his eyes. The masked face swam into focus and Robin summoned up a smile.

"Hey," he said weakly.

Relief swept over the visible features of his older partner and Robin tried to sit up. His head took that the wrong way and the world began to tilt sideways. He hurriedly closed his eyes and clutched his head, surpressing another moan. A hand squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, luckily the left one, since his right shoulder hurt like blazes as well. Robin opened his eyes again, breathing deeply. That was the moment he discovered the owners of the other voices. One was a dark-haired man in a brown overall, wearing what looked like a oversized fire extinguisher on his back. The other one was taller than the dark-haired one, had blond hair and wore a pair of red glasses. His overall was blue.

"Who....?" Robin began.

"These are the Ghostbusters; Dr. Peter Venkman and Dr. Egon Spengler," Batman introduced the two strangers. Each of them nodded when he mentioned their names. "They have come from another space continuum, one that is affected by what is being done here."

Robin was confused for a second, then simply accepted the explanation -- for now. "Temple Fugate," he told his partner. "It's him. I saw him shortly before someone whacked me over the head." He looked around. "Where are we?"

"Another warehouse." Batman helped him up and he leaned against a crate, feeling dizzy. "You have a concussion," he added, still resting one hand on Robin's shoulder to steady him.

"I'm fine," the younger man objected, wishing the headache would cease a bit. He cradled his right arm and massaged his sore shoulder, hoping nothing was broken. "Well, almost," he muttered when he saw Batman's scowl.

"Who is this Temple Fugate?" the blond Ghostbuster, Egon Spengler, now asked.

"A criminal, but ingenious mind," Batman answered. "He also calls himself The Clock King. Lately he has become interested in time experiments, successfully, I have to add. He is no scientist, merely a thief of scientific inventions. His understanding of science is limited; his mind works mathematically where seconds, minutes and hours are concerned, the finer art of the science of time manipulation are closed to him."

"So he couldn't have invented whatever he is using to get Gotham over to this other place, right?" Robin asked.

Batman nodded. "He stole the equipment and is now using it."

"The question now is, what is he doing precisely?" Spengler stated. "From what is happening to our space continuum, mainly New York, I believe that he has somehow acquired a device that transports energy by opening a rupture and then pushing the matter through; from your information Mr. Fugate experiments with the time continuum, which would contradict what is happening."

"So he changed departments," Venkman said with a shrug.

"Or something misfired," Batman added.

Robin snapped his fingers. "Hey, I just remember. Shortly before I was knocked out I listened in to something Fugate and some guy he called 'Aaron' were discussing. Aaron mentioned that something had gone wrong and Fugate said not to worry about it, he would still have his revenge."

Batman's face darkened.

"Revenge?" Venkman echoed. "For what?"

"Several years ago, Temple Fugate missed a very important appointment and through it lost his business and all his money," the Dark Knight explained. "He made one man responsible for that, the current mayor of Gotham City. He tried to kill him twice, but always failed. Last time he was imprisoned, but he was released lately and it looks like he's responsible for this dilemma."

"Bit of large scale just to kill one person," Venkman muttered.

Robin smiled wryly. "You wouldn't say that if you knew all the other revenge plans we've encountered throughout the years."

Spengler merely raised an eyebrow. "We need to find out what Mr. Fugate planned to do and what has gone wrong. We have to stop the rupture from widening further and pulling your city through. It would destroy New York and with it, if my calculations are correct, several hundred square miles around it. The earthquake to follow Gotham City's arrival in our space could destroy even more than just New York, not to speak of what could happen because such a large matter from one space crosses over to another, where it doesn't exist at all. The matter might react with whatever it might encounter in our space."

The four men were silent for a second, then Batman straightened. "We won't find out anything if we keep on discussing what might happen; we have to find the device."

"Right!" Robin smiled at his partner. "So where do we start?"

Spengler lifted a small device he had been carrying. "I tried to locate the source of the disturbance when we arrive, but found that it is shielded somehow."

"Which leaves to doing it by foot," Venkman added.

"Not necessarily," Batman contradicted. "Robin saw Fugate and the other man disappear in a specific area of the warehouse. We only have to search this area closely."

"But I did just that," Robin pointed out while they prepared to leave their hiding place.

Batman lifted one corner of his mouth into a grin. "I think there are still a few more options to try than just looking around." He pulled a little device out of his belt. "This little thing reacts to electronic locks. If there's a door, this gizmo will open it."

Spengler looked at the device with interest and Robin had the impression that the scientist wanted to do nothing more than to take it apart. Venkman elbowed his friend and shook his head.

"No taking apart of other people's gizmos," he chided with a grin.

As they left the warehouse, Batman and Robin in front, the two Ghostbusters in tow, the young crimefighter looked at his partner.

"Who are they?" he asked. "I mean, what's a Ghostbuster and what is that crap about another space continuum? I heard what you said, but I don't understand it, really."

Batman smiled. "It's a long story, one I'll tell you when this mess is over, Robin. All you need to know right now is that these two men are on our side and that they know what they're talking about, at least Dr. Spengler does."

Robin grinned.

They closed in on the warehouse both crimefighters had been before and this time Robin noticed that the building looked like new now and there was no telling apart whether it was an illusion or not.

"This is very bad," Spengler commented and took out his small device, turning some dials. "The rupture has grown again and our time window has dwindled to a mere three hours until critical."

Peter Venkman gave a groan. "Why's it always growing worse and not better? Everytime we have a catastrophe at hand we're in deep shit and there's no easy way out, not to speak of instant-catastrophes."

"It isn't as bad as Ragnarok was; or Doomsday," Egon lectured. "But it will be if we don't act fast."

Robin listened to their talk and wondered what it all meant. It sounded to him like they were experts with world catastrophes, but he didn't know if they really were.

"You two will keep back," Batman instructed them now. "Robin and I will take care of likely guards and then find the door. You will come in when we've secured the warehouse."

"From the way I stumbled upon you, you might need help with those guards," Peter said with an ironic smile, mainly addressing Robin.

"He took me by surprise," the young man defended himself.

Peter propped the thrower cockily at his shoulder and grinned. "Then you need back-up. Egon can wait outside until we've cleared the deck and then get his megabrain to work on whatever gizmo we discover there."

"Too dangerous," Batman said immediately.

"Too dangerous?" Peter echoed. "You think I'm afraid of a little bit of danger? Listen, buddy, I've gone up against gods, demons and whatever the Netherworld decided to throw at us and ....."

Egon interrupted Peter's complaint by taking his friend's arm. "Peter, I think that we should listen to their advice. Batman and Robin know this space continuum better than we do and if we have to keep back until they tell us to come in, then we do."

Venkman didn't look all enthusiastic about it, but then shrugged. He turned to Robin. "Give us a call when you need a hand," he told the young man.

Robin grinned. "Okay."

Batman smiled a bit, then motioned his partner to follow him. They disappeared into the warehouse while the two Ghostbusters settled back, waiting.

 

*

 

"I don't like it, Egon," Peter said as he watched the two costumed men disappear in the warehouse.

Egon nodded slowly. Though he knew that Batman was right, that they had to take out the guards first and then find the entrance to the hidden room, he didn't like it. Their schedule was too tight; they had only a few hours left until the catastrophe happened.

"I know, Peter, and I don't like it either ...."

"So let's go in there and give those two weirdos a hand."

The blond man looked uncertain. He glanced at his P.K.E. meter again, which told him that the time left until the rupture had opened wide enough to pull this city over to their space was dwindling rapidly. He inhaled deeply and nodded, though it went against what he had told Peter just a few minutes earlier. But this was an emergency.

"But let's be careful," he said.

Peter grinned. "Being careful is my second nature."

Egon only raised an eyebrow, then both followed Batman and Robin.

 

*

 

The two crimefighters had split up again, though Batman had been reluctant to let Robin venture out on his own. The younger man had a concussion and was still dazed from the blow to his head and shoulder. In the end, when they had discovered the guards, who were spread out all over the warehouse ground, he had let Robin go alone.

The first two guards were completely surprised by the attack of the Dark Knight. He bound and gagged them, then continued on. He heard the muffled sounds of fighting from close by and recognized the sound of a Batarang, followed by the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground. Robin was hard at work.

"You!"

Batman whirled around and discovered Temple Fugate standing in front of a wall; the one where Robin had been lying unconscious in front of not so long ago. Fugate wore his black suit and held the golden rod, which looked like a clock's arm.

"How dare you!" Fugate fumed.

"What have you done, Fugate?" Batman asked. "You're destroying Gotham City!"

The other man grinned. "Yes, it looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Why?"

"Why? This city has ruined me, Batman! It took my life from me! All because of that idiot Hill! And since I seem to be unable to take revenge on him, I'll hit the city!" Fugate sounded irate and his hands clenched into fists.

"I thought the Clock King had more subtlety than to destroy a city," Batman taunted. "Your prior plans were much more the work of a great mind than that of a destructive maniac."

Fugate first looked like he would yell for more guards, but then he relaxed a bit. "This won't work, Batman. Flattery doesn't affect me, but you're correct: my prior plans were ingenious works of art. And this one would have been as well, if everything had worked as planned. But now, well, it still satisfies my need for revenge, and if it means the destruction of the city, I don't care any longer."

"What about the innocents, Fugate?"

"There are no innocents! They are all guilty of one crime or another; it was the city that took everything from me, so everyone will pay. And you can't stop me!" With that he turned and started to disappear between the crates when something whirred through the air. A Batbola wrapped its thin ropes around the man and Fugate fell to the floor. He struggled, but the more he struggled, the more the ropes tightened.

"I can," Batman said darkly and walked over to him. "And I will. Where is your hideout, Fugate?"

The Clock King only chuckled. "You'll never find it. Time is against you. Gotham will be destroyed in exactly two hours, twelve minutes and forty-five seconds ..... and you can't prevent it."

Batman's lips were a thin, white line, which curled into a grim smile. "Maybe, maybe not."

He pulled out the small device he had explained to the Ghostbusters a few minutes ago. Then he pushed a button and a red light went on. Batman turned in a circle and when the blinking red light stopped blinking, he walked toward the wall. Fugate was following his every move and his eyes grew slightly wider. Batman placed the device against the wall and pushed another button. About thirty seconds later a green light flashed on and a soft hissing sound could be heard. A slit appeared in the wall and then a very well hidden door opened.

"No!" the Clock King protested.

"You found it." Robin jumped down from a crate and jogged over to his partner. "And him," he gestured at Fugate, who was struggling helplessly to get free.

"Hey, you found it!" another voice caroled and a second later, Dr. Peter Venkman appeared, followed by his colleague, Dr. Egon Spengler.

"I thought I told you to stay safe until we called you," Batman said and scowled at the Ghostbuster.

"You didn't tell us anything," Peter countered. "We said we'd think about staying back and waiting. Well, we did, and we didn't think it would be such a good idea, and so here we are." He grinned broadly.

Robin couldn't help but grin as well.

Spengler had walked over to the now opened door and held up his detection device, the one he had called 'P.K.E. meter'. "It's down there. Very strong readings of a disturbance that threatens to burst the scales. We have to shut down the machinery at once." He looked seriously at the three men.

"You can't shut it down!" Fugate said triumphantly. "If you do, the effect would be disastrous."

Egon frowned. "In what way?"

The Clock King turned his head away, pointedly ignoring the scientist. Batman walked over to the slighter man, grabbed a fistful of Fugate's shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"In what way?" he asked lowly.

Fugate stared at him. "If you shut down the machinery, the effect turns around and the rupture snaps shut."

"Why would that be disastrous?" Robin asked.

"Because there's already a large quantity of Gotham City over in our space," Spengler explained. "If everything is sucked back here, your city might turn unstable and its molecular cohesion would be threatened."

"Huh?"

"Gotham City could simply fall apart," Batman translated.

"Oh."

"And the effects on New York could be likewise disastrous," Spengler went on. "It could be either pulled back here as well or it will be badly damaged."

Peter pushed back some hair. "So what can we do? We have to stop the machine!"

"We have to and I might just have an idea how to do it without any more damage than has already occurred." With that, Spengler walked through the door and disappeared into the hidden room.

Robin looked at Batman, who merely shrugged. What could they loose?

 

* * *

 

Janine looked at the frightening changes that had taken place all around her in the last few hours. Everything was just an apparition, she knew, something without substance -- yet. Ray had told her what could happen if Egon and Peter weren't successful; New York would perish and another city would take its place, crushing the Big Apple under it.

When she looked over to where the city had once loomed up into the sky, where she would have seen some of the sights and skyscrapers of New York, she now only saw the shadow of the other city; a city she didn't even know the name of. It had to be a gigantic city, judging from the buildings she could see, which were architecturally abstract.

"Anything?" she heard Winston ask Ray.

"No. I tried contacting them, but it looks like we didn't count in the massive disturbances emitting from the rupture while it grows," the occultist answered. "It's like trying to reach someone while you're in a valley, surrounded by such high mountains that your signal won't get through."

"So we don't have a chance to reach them?"

"Not unless we find a way to neutralize the disturbances."

Winston groaned. "Great."

"I'm working on something." Ray sounded thoughtful. "I'm also trying to find a way to get us a view on what is happening in the warehouse. We can see the other city all around us but we can't see what Peter and Egon are doing because something is neutralizing the effect in this specific room."

Janine rose from the place she had been sitting and walked over to the two Ghostbusters.

"Can't we do something else?" she asked. "Can't we cross over to the other space and help Egon and Peter?"

Ray and Winston both shook their heads. "No, too dangerous. And besides, we agreed to monitor the rupture from our side while Egon and Peter would attempt to close it.

"But what if they can't?"

"Then it's of no importance where we are," Ray answered earnestly.

Janine inhaled deeply, wishing they could do something. She hated waiting; especially for catastrophes to happen.

 

* * *

 

Egon entered the secret room and stopped. This was amazing. Hadn't he known that this was reality, a reality of another space, but reality nevertheless, he would have thought to be in some kind of science fiction movie. The lab was gigantic, about twice as large as the ground floor of the fire hall. There were futuristic machines standing at one wall, their lights blinking. A low hum filled the room and in the center stood something like an oversized tube, which was filled with a bluish liquid. Egon walked over to what looked like a super computer with a large screen and a keyboard.

"Uh, wow! What a sight!"

Egon turned to Peter, who was staring at the machinery with a mixture of awe and wariness. Then the psychologist came over to his colleague, the thrower still drawn.

"Any idea how to turn it around?" he asked.

"Not yet." Egon shed his pack and sat down on the chair in front of the computer screen. He began to type a few commands into the machine and it responded with a list of letters and numbers.

Peter squinted at the screen, then shrugged. This was way beyond his knowledge. Egon began to type away and was seconds later completely immersed in his work. Steps behind him told him that someone was coming and he turned, thrower ready.

Robin lifted his hands. "Don't shoot." Peter lowered the rifle and Robin looked at the computer, where Egon was hard at work. "What's he doing?"

"Bypassing the main transfer chip and trying to access the control," a deep voice said and Batman walked past them. "With the control chip neutralized, we could reroute the command procedures so that the energies flow backward and then close the rupture with the same speed as it was opened."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Looks like Egon isn't the only one talking long and complicated tech terms," he commented.

Robin grinned. "So you didn't understand it either?" he asked with a crooked smile.

"Hey, I didn't say that!"

"And the translation is?" Robin prodded cheerily.

"You wouldn't wanna know, kid," Peter said vaguely.

"So you don't know."

Peter stuck out his tongue, as delighted at the banter as Robin apparently was. Batman left the two to their 'conversation' and walked over to Egon and read what data ran over the screen.

"It looks like you're already in the first highway to the main control chip," he said. "Try to circumvent the secondary back-up and divert the power. I'll try and find the main access hatch in here and disconnect the computer the second you've re-programmed it."

Egon nodded and Batman began his search.

"What are you looking for?" Robin asked curiously.

"A small access hatch for the main computer banks," the Dark Knight explained. "The moment Dr. Spengler has rerouted all circuits and turned the process around, we need to disconnect the computer from the machine that produces the energy waves. That way the circuits close in a loop and keep on operating until the rupture is closed."

"Oh."

"The access hatch must be somewhere close to the computer console Dr. Spengler is working at," Batman went on and looked closely at the consoles. "It should also be labeled."

"Like: 'Access hatch to disconnect computer from crazy gizmo'?" Peter asked.

Batman smiled wryly. "Something like that."

"How about 'Danger, do not open'?" Robin wanted to know and pointed at one of the little consoles around the bluish glowing tube.

Batman came over and nodded. "Yes." He took out what looked like a screwdriver and began to unscrew the hatch. When it was open, he peered inside. There was a mass of different wires and thin tubes.

"Dr. Spengler?"

Egon looked up from his work for a brief second, nodded and went on hacking at the keyboard. Batman reached for some wires and pulled. There was a short alarm, which died down immediately and then the low humming sound changed into a buzzing. The bluish glow turned deep purple; nothing else happened.

Peter and Robin exchanged a look, then Peter turned to Egon. "That's it?" he asked.

Egon straightened and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I hope. The machine is now separated from the computer control and in an endless backwards loop."

Robin looked at the purple glowing tube again. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait for a confirmation of our theory," Egon said. "If this works, we should have some results in about half an hour." He looked around the lab. "Until then I think I'll have a look around this lab."

Peter grinned, recognizing the curious tone in Egon's voice. The physicist longed to get his hands on the computers. "Just don't blow anything up, willya? It doesn't exactly look good with our hosts if we flatten the neighborhood."

Egon only grimaced and then began his excursion through the lab.

Peter turned to Robin. "He's always like this when he doesn't get his weekly explosion," he explained knowingly. "Keeps the insurance company busy."

Robin chuckled. "And they really let you run free over in your space continuum?"

"Look who's talking," Peter only muttered.

 

*

 

Half an hour came and went by. Peter had settled down on one of the swivel chairs and Robin had joined him a few moments later. The two so different men were deep in conversation now and Batman had to smile. From the gestures and facial expressions of both, it wasn't a serious conversation, just something funny; and it was Venkman who told the story.

Temple Fugate and his henchman had been locked in one of the other rooms Batman had discovered while searching the warehouse. The Clock King was fuming with anger and predicting that Batman had no chance to stop him; he'd win.

 _Fat chance_ , the Dark Knight thought with satisfaction. Fugate and his gang would be turned over to the police when this was over and he'd get a lot of time behind bars, maybe even in Arkham, but Batman doubted that.

He went over to the machine, which was responsible for the rupture, and where Egon Spengler was hard at work taking panels off and making short notes.

"Any luck with whatever you are trying to find?" he asked the blond scientist.

Spengler looked up from his work. "In a way. I tried to determine how this machine works and I think I've an answer."

Batman looked expectantly at him.

"This machine works like a time machine if I read all the data correctly. It was intended to turn back time, to slip the city back on the stream of time to a certain point in that time stream, and then anchor it there. I don't know why Mr. Fugate wanted to turn back time, but it didn't work as planned. The machine took in too much energy and it burned some circuits; this way a feedback was created, which looped through the remaining circuits and transformed the power output of the time machine. This power output created the rupture, which began to grow because the machine kept on running."

"But now it is closing."

"Yes. I checked on the rupture's size a few minutes ago and it has begun to shrink." Egon smiled. "Looks like we made it."

Batman returned the smile. "Yes, it looks that way. And it also looks like you and your friend have to return to your own city soon or you'll be stuck here."

Spengler nodded. "Yes, I know." He turned his head and discovered Robin and Venkman in the other corner, still immersed in whatever stories they were exchanging.

 

"A what?" Robin asked and stared at the other man. Peter Venkman had just told him all there was about Ghostbusting, and Robin had a hard time believing it. Ghosts, demons, gods!? It was outrageous.

"A Sea Devil," Peter said patiently. "And it was threatening to dry New York of all water reserves. That's where we came in! We saved the day, again!"

Robin grinned. "Okay, Pete, I believe you, you're heroes. Maybe you should stay here and help us bust some crime; you said you had some experience as Crimebusters, didn't ya?"

"Uh-hu, but I'd bust a ghost everyday than to go after real people. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stay with the supernatural." Peter grinned. "By the way, I don't think I'd look as good as I do now when I wear tights." He winked at the costumed crimefighter.

Robin chuckled. "I've to agree. You lack some muscles for that."

Peter looked hurt. "Not enough muscles? Hey, you wear a forty-plus pound proton pack while chasing a class-2 several blocks, kid, then we talk about muscles!"

"Don't tempt me. I might just come along and get a look at you job."

"You wouldn't stand a chance."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You wanna bet on it?"

Peter mimicked the gesture. "I do."

"Oooo-kayyyyy......"

"Peter?" That was Egon. The physicist came over to them. "It's time; we have to leave."

"Oh." Peter looked a bit disappointed. "And here I thought I'd at least get a sight seeing tour through this Gotham City." He shrugged. "Well, maybe next time."

"I hope there is no next time," Batman said.

"Not under these circumstances, that is," Robin added and grinned. "If you drop by sometime, give us a call. I'm sure a sight seeing tour can be arranged."

"You got a deal."

"What about that bet?" the young crimefighter asked slyly.

Peter raised both eyebrows. "Why don't'cha drop by sometime and I'll see what can be arranged?" he answered readily.

"You got a deal," was Robin's reply.

Batman didn't know what that had just been about, but he intended to find out when the two scientists from the other space where gone.

Spengler and Venkman left the lab after Spengler had once more checked on the machine and was satisfied that everything was still getting better. They walked over to the spot where both of them had first materialized. Robin looked curiously and warily around.

"This is where this rupture is supposed to be?" he asked.

Spengler nodded. "You can't see it, but the instruments tell us that it is directly ahead of us. All Peter and myself have to do is step inside and wait for the energies to get a hold of our bodies. It isn't dangerous to walk through the energy field as long as you don't remain too long."

"I see." Robin shrugged. "Well, it was nice having you guys here and thanks again for the helping hand, Peter," he addressed Venkman.

The psychologist smiled. "Hey, any time, kid."

"We will monitor the rupture until it is closed completely," Batman promised. "Then we will call the police so they can take over."

Egon nodded. "We will do the same on our side."

Then Peter and Egon walked to where Egon had said the rupture would be and stopped, waiting. Seconds later Batman and Robin saw how the two men began to dissolve.

"Cool!" Robin exclaimed as he watched them vanish.

Batman lifted one corner of his mouth in a wry smile, then he turned and walked back to the lab. Robin remained a few seconds longer, shaking his head. Finally he followed his partner. They still had a rupture to monitor.

 

* * *

 

A new day had broken over New York City and with this new day came a change. Janine woke in her car, where she had lowered the back of her seat so she could get a nap. It had been very uncomfortable, but she had refused to go anywhere until she wasn't assured that Egon was safe. And besides, where should she go? Ray and Winston had slept in shifts in Ecto-1, sharing the work of monitoring the rupture.

Now that Janine was awake she noticed the changes. The harbor looked like the harbor again; no apparitions, no shapes, no illusions. She got out of the car and stretched her cramped muscles, then walked over to where Winston was standing beside Ray, watching the read-out screen of the P.K.E. meter.

"Guys, is it my wishful thinking or are things getting better?" she asked.

Ray shook his head. "No, you're right. The rupture has started to shrink!" He grinned at her triumphantly. "They did it!"

"So they will return?"

The occultist shrugged, uncertain. "They should come through the rupture before it closes, but since it'll take at least several days for it to close down because it closes with the same speed as it opened, we won't know when they will return."

"Is it safe for us to enter the warehouse and wait there?" Winston asked.

"Well, it should be. The rupture is closing and getting smaller and as long as we don't step into the rupture itself ....."

That was the moment the door of the warehouse opened and two figures stepped out.

"Egon!" Janine cried and ran over to him. She threw herself at the blond physicist and hugged him, placing a kiss on  his cheek.

Egon blushed and detached himself from Janine, though he didn't push her away completely.

"Peter! Egon! You made it!" Ray cried happily and ran over as well, followed by Winston.

"Welcome home, guys!" the black Ghostbuster greeted them and clapped them both on the shoulder.

"It's good to be home," Peter confessed.

Both looked tired and worn, but they showed no injuries.

"What happened in the other space? Was it like our place? Did you meet anyone over there? Did you take readings?" Ray was bursting with questions.

Peter grinned. "You wouldn't believe us if we showed you pictures as evidence, Tex. It was weird."

"We took readings and I discovered some very fascinating things," Egon added, "but I think we should first of all inform the mayor that the catastrophe has been avoided and that the evacuation can be stopped. Then we should set up a monitoring station until the rupture has closed down completely."

"And we should get home, take a bath and some sleep," Peter added and yawned. "Saving humanity, in two spaces, is tiring." He grinned.

Winston nodded. "Good idea. I'll call the mayor and tell him the good news, then we can go about our own business." He walked back to Ecto-1.

In the meantime, Ray and Egon had already launched into a technical evaluation of the Ghostbuster's latest adventure.

"Okay, troops, let's get moving as well," Peter said cheerily and pushed both Ray and Egon after Winston. "We can talk complicated tech terms when we're home."

A few minutes later the Ghostbusters were on their way home to their fire house.

 

* * *

 

It was a clear night with a new moon. The stars were out and a slight breeze ruffled the cape of the figure standing on the roof of one of the skyscrapers of Gotham City. Another figure skated down the tiles of the roof and came to a stop beside the first one.

"Beautiful night, huh?" Robin asked and watched the streets below. The cars were tiny and looked like toys.

"Yes," Batman answered.

"And Gotham's Gotham again," his younger partner continued. "Fugate's back in Arkham, the rupture is closed, everything's fine." He grinned. "Ain't that good news?"

"Yes."

"Uh, you're into monosyllables again!" Robin sighed. "Great!"

Batman smiled. "You're correct, it is a beautiful night." He took out his grappling hook. "How about a little trip around the neighborhood?" With that he shot the hook from the small handgun and then swung off the roof.

Robin grinned. "You got it!" And then he followed his partner.


End file.
